I am waiting on the ghost of Atticus Finch. Last week, the Law Tribune’s editorial board demonized the attorneys who represented Cassandra C and her mother before the Connecticut Supreme Court—at one point describing the case of the teenager who wanted not to receive chemotherapy for her cancer as having “the distasteful aroma of lawyer-assisted suicide.” This distressing attack on the reputations of three lawyers punished them for a grievous sin of which all members of the bar should hope to be guilty: zealously representing their clients in a controversial case.
First, full disclosure: I am not objective about all of this—and, because my name is on my column, the Law Tribune’s readers should know my biases. Michael Taylor, who represents Cassandra’s mother, has been my best friend for 15 years (and I am friendly with his partner, Jay Sexton, as well). In addition, I authored an amicus brief for the American Civil Liberties of Connecticut Foundation in support of Cassandra and her mother that urged the Supreme Court to emulate the half-dozen other states that have adopted, or suggested that they would adopt, the “mature minor doctrine.” I simply am too close to the editorial’s targets and too angry about its subject matter to pen a rational, dispassionate rebuttal.
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